Threats, Intimidation and Payback in the ‘Goodfellas’ Administration

“…For as long as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster. To me that was better than being president of the United States. To be a gangster was to own the world…” -Ray Liotta in ‘Goodfellas‘, 1990

There’s been a disturbing, …no, make that terrifying, …trend in our politics of late. We are being governed by people who behave like gangsters, minus the stereotypical accents or any perceivable ethical code. They believe (and behave as if) our nation’s laws are only for “little people”; schlubs. They believe themselves to be above the law, beyond it.

They believe they won’t be caught, because they believe they can’t be caught.

Most of all, they believe this allows them to deal with their enemies in classic gangster style: through threats, intimidation and ‘payback’. They want to send a message, they delight in it, precisely becausethey believe that no one can touch them.

(via HotAir) – This strange announcementcame last night from the US Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York. Author and conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, who produced the documentary2016: Obama’s Americathat went after Barack Obama in the middle of the last election cycle, has been indicted for allegedly pushing $20,000 in straw-man contributions into a Senate race in New York that was hopeless from the start…

IfD’Souza violated the law, then he’ll have to be held accountable … but it will be interesting to see in court how the feds “routinely” decided to look into his activities after producing 2016.

My thoughts exactly.

This is not to say that Conservative folks never run afoul of the law, but rather that they are the only ones held to account. If we were watching a football game and only one team was ever penalized, you wouldn’t necessarily be upset that your guy was guilty of Pass Interference. No, the injustice would be the other team which was interfering just as much (or more; much much more), yet was rarely if EVER called for it.

If you saw a game like that, it would become readily apparent that the “fix” was in. And at that point it’s no longer a game, since the outcome is no longer in doubt.

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“…We ran everything. We paid off cops. We paid off lawyers. We paid off judges. Everybody had their hands out. Everything was for the taking…” -Ray Liotta in ‘Goodfellas‘, 1990

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Let’s face it: isn’t it curious that only critics of this Administration are routinely investigated, targeted, or singled out for “a closer look”? Maetenloch over at Ace Of Spades agrees with me (or I agree with him; whatever…), and listed several other such “coincidences”:

Yes, there are conservatives in Hollywood. The recent scrutiny stems from their (completely understandable) desire to keep their membership private, while still being allowed to take advantage of existing tax law.

The group wants 501(c)(3) status so that contributor donations can be tax-deductible, and that does entail some scrutiny from the IRS.

…this is hardly a new and novel effort. Norman Lear operated People for the American Way as a 501(c)(3) for many years (although now is apparently a 501(c)(4) which donates to candidates), and that spent millions each year on “issue advocacy” in Washington DC and the states in its prior status– and by “issue advocacy,” we mean lobbying, of course. Laurie David and Leonardo di Caprio have the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The entertainment industry has numerous groups of this kind, plus their ability to frame their political messages into their art, with not terribly wonderful results either economically or artistically, but the IRS doesn’t seem terribly interested in these groups.

Just (another) coincidence, I’m sure.

All of this reminds me of 2001, when George Bush famously said the following:

Bush’s words were admirable, as he sought to galvanize opposition to the enemies of Freedom worldwide: namely, agents of terrorism and their enablers following 9/11.

In effect, the Obama White House is saying something similar with their actions, if not their actual words. The crucial difference rests in whom this White House views as “the enemy”.

And by all appearances, the “enemy” sure seems to be …us.

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“…If we wanted something we just took it. If anyone complained twice they got hit so bad, believe me, they never complained again…” -Ray Liotta in ‘Goodfellas‘, 1990

No seriously, you did an excellent job! Did you superimpose the heads? Or just add the text to an existing pic? What version of photoshop do you have ( I have a very old version… can’t afford any newer! LOL)

The football analogy is a good one! To add to your examples, here’s a story that did not get much coverage. Obama’s Administration helped to ensure that his HHS Secretary Katherine Sebelius would not be investigated further over her involvement in covering up allegations of child sexual abuse that were not reported by Planned Parenthood. If an individual or organization other than an ally to the Obama administration had such charges against them, not only would those charges be pursued, it would cause a mass media frenzy. We already know this to be true.
But when it’s Planned Parenthood and Katherine Sebelius, that’s a different story:

it’s the old adage for a reason: absolute power corrupts absolutely, big govts inevitably resort to gangsterism. so so many cases of “can you imagine if the other side did this?!” last few years. People say they learn from history but no, and think we’re the kooks for pointing out the familiar dangers and “coincidences”

Very, very true, Kristina!
And you’re right: I could literally say the words “can you imagine if Bush did *X*?”, every single day.
Without fail.

The thing is, they’re getting more used to having their way, with everything. Which is making them braver, and much more obvious.
And if they keep getting away with it all, ….well, we’ll have plenty to be scared of, that’s for sure.

I’m probably stating the obvious but it STILL surprises me the things people will ignore, excuse and double standard-away from someone they voted for! I wish people had more of a clue about history, they’d recognize signs of powers that be getting out of control. At least with gangsters you have the law…

I read your piece here and you’re done a great job in putting this together. I’ve often referred to the government as the “Congressional Crime Syndicate”. I think people really should pay attention. But I also think a lot of folks know these things but as in the words of Patrick Henry, “We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth”. No one wants to believe our government is so corrupt. The need to feel safe in America is much greater than the reality that we’re not. People have the tendency to view things … oh … say … from ‘ground level’, seeing only the obvious. Kind of like walking out of your home and looking at your neighborhood from your front yard. But if you climb on the roof of your home and look at the exact same thing suddenly everything isn’t quite like you thought. Your perspective is much different. You’re seeing a “bigger picture”. Folks really need to pay attention and get a “higher perspective” of what’s going on within our government.
Thanks for calling my attention to this. I do 95% of my blogging from work and I don’t get a lot of opportunity to visit all my friends sites as much as I’d like.
I hope you and your family have a great weekend!